Katherine Minkiewicz-Martine, SOCONEWS
A request from Healdsburg’s vice mayor to pursue a building reach code update that would include a ban on all-natural gas — creating all-electric reach code — couldn’t get enough traction Feb. 7 from fellow city council members in order to move forward despite resident support of such a ban.
Instead of pushing onward with this option, Vice Mayor Ariel Kelley’s colleagues cited a desire to work toward making existing buildings more energy efficient, looking at other ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — such as electrifying the city’s utility truck fleet — and the need for natural gas during public safety power shut offs (PSPS) when electricity is not available.
A reach code is an ordinance that goes above state requirements on energy use to try and break dependency on fossil fuels by mandating that new construction for residential or commercial use either mixed gas and electric, partial electric or all-electric cooking and heating options.